Mercury-vapor apparatus



@et 5 1926-.` K. MENSING MERCURY VAPOR APPARATUS Filed Dec. 28, 1921' y Patented oa'. s, 192e.

UNiTE-D STATES Arm* 'Fris'.

KARL MENSINVG, OF HANAU-ON-THE-MAIN, GERMANY, ASSIGNOR TO THE FIRM:

Q`UARZIIZ|AIYIIIPE1`TGESZELLSCIHAFL` MIT BESCHRANKTER HAFTUNG, 0F HANAU-ON- THE-MAIN, GERMANY,

MERCURY-VAPOR APPARATUS. s

Application fllerl ADecember 28, 1921, Serial No. 525,427, and in Germany December 31, 1920.

My invention relates to quartz lamps for operation by alternating current. In the illuminating tubes of such lamps, it is already known, in order to prevent short cir- 5 cuiting between the two anodes by the mercury returning from the cathode, after the filluminating tube has been tilted and after the formation of the arc, to provide on the bottom of the illuminating tube a ridge which causes the returning mercury to flow in two branches or threads. The purpose of this is to prevent the arc that has been produced from at vonce being extinguished, as this occurs very easily and is caused by the l5 mercury, which returns to the two anode pole vessels, formino' a connection between these vessels. The nown arrangement of the illuminating tube, however, has the disadvantage that ignition. is uncertain and more or less a matter of accident. In the rst place the mercury forming the cathode is separated from the mercury returning to the two anodes and only then is the anode made to branch out; in the meantime the light which has been made at the first rupture is often extinguished in the interval Abetween these two operations, because the ignition of one branch of the anode does not follow suliiciently quickly the ignition of the other.

The invention has for its purpose to secure efective operation of the lamp by ensuring that the two branches of the anode are ignited one after the other as quickly as possible in point of time, and this result is attained by positioning the points at which the ignition of the 4branches of the anode 'mercury'v4 takes place 'veryclose together. ITheinvention therefore consists in extending the rib 'on thelbottomy of the illuminating ltube to a point very close to the cathode pole vessel,this rib beingpro'vided with a transverse edge so that when the illuminating tube is tilted back the mercury at this point is at the same moment distributed in three directions. `If the cathode pole vessel is, as already known, connected with the illuminating tube by a capillary passage which opens in the form of a funnel into the illuminating tube, the rib is advantageously continued into the funnel shaped part and has its upper surface carried to the point at which the capillary passage begins. In the drawings aiixed to this specification and forming part thereof 'a device em- 55 bodying my invention is illustrated diagrammatically by way of example. In the drawings- I Fig. l is a longitudinal vsection of the cathode end of the luminous tube, and

Fig. 2 is a cross section.

Figs. 3 and 4 are 'a longitudinal section and a horizontal section viewed from above, respectively, drawn to a smaller scale, of the entire device.

Referring to the drawings, L is the luminous tube and K is the cathode pole-vessel which is connected with the tube by a narrow 'neck C, the so-called capillary. A, A are the two anode pole vessels which are located at the free end of branch tubes M, M merging into tube L and having inner walls P, P. According to `my invention, a vertical partition S, a few millimetres high, is formed in the axial plane of the luminous tube. The partition extends from the point where the inner walls P, P of the branch tubes M, M meet down to and into the capillary C, that is, as far as the point where the arc originates and terminates 8o with a transverse edge T. The capillary C is slightly widened after the manner of a funnel where it is connected with the luminous tube and the height of the partition S is such that its upper edge extends as far as the beginning of the bore proper of the capillary and thus determines the position of the transverse edge.

When the tube shall be ignited, that portion of the incandescent tube (not shown), 90. which extends to the left of the drawing is slightly` raised so that the mercury of the two anode vessels joins that of the cathode vessel which is indicated by Hg. If the tube is now tilted in opposite direction, the mercury must of necessity separate at the point T, that is, where the upper edge of the partition S joins the wall of the capillary C so Jphat da reliable 'and rapid ignition is'- efecte I wish it to be understood that I do not desire to be limited to the exact details of construction shown and described, for obvious modifications will occur to :L person skilled in the art.

I claim:

In a mercury vapor apparatus for operation by alternating current in combination, a luminous tube, a. cathode pole-vessel at one end of said tube, sha1 ped part connecting said vessel with said tube :1nd a rib extending in axial direction on the bottom of said tube und into said funnel-shaped part, the upper edge of said rib extending as fur as the entrance of said 15 narrow tube.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

KARL MEN SING.

a narrow tube,A a funnel- 10 

